Georgia’s jobless rate edges up to 10.5 percent
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s jobless rate edged up to a record 10.5 percent in February, staying higher than the national average for the 29th straight month, the state Labor Department reported Thursday.
An estimated 496,030 Georgians during the month were unemployed and seeking work, the department said. The January rate was 10.4 percent.
The newest data are “stark reminders of the economic challenges that still lie ahead,” said Michael Thurmond, state labor commissioner.
National job losses have continued, with the U.S. unemployment rate for the month at 9.7 percent. But Georgia’s economy has been hit harder than most.
In what has become the longest downturn since the Great Depression, the state has hemorrhaged 399,600 jobs -- 9.5 percent of the total -- since late 2007.
Some of those laid off have left the state. Others have gone back to school or stopped looking for work. Thousands of others work part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs.
The official jobless rate would be higher if those people were counted as unemployed.
Job losses have slowed but stopped since the winter of 2008. Since last February, Georgia has shed 137,500 jobs, the Labor Department reported.
Much of the growth during the previous expansion flowed from the state’s real estate boom. After that bubble burst, jobs linked to the spree -- from bankers to builders -- were devastated. But the losses extended across the economy.
The only category that has grown in the past year is healthcare and education, which added 5,700 jobs. But a budget crisis among state and local governments means cuts in teacher and other positions.
One hopeful sign last month came in the number of new jobless claims.
About 66,000 Georgians filed new unemployment claims -- a 31 percent drop from January and a 24 percent fall from the same month last year.
“The significant decline in February initial unemployment insurance claims suggests that Georgia’s job market may be stabilizing,” Thurmond said.
More than half of Georgia’s jobless are receiving unemployment compensation from the state or from extensions provided by the federal government.
Economists expect the state’s jobless rate to crest above 11 percent.
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